Business

New Delhi, Oct 14 (IANS) The RBI's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), after its meeting on September 30, had hiked repo rate by 50 basis points to 5.90 per cent over rising inflation concerns.

It had said at that time that inflation is expected to remain elevated at around 6 per cent in the second half of 2022-23.

The decision was also taken on the basis of an assessment of the current and evolving macroeconomic situation, according to the minutes of the MPC meeting released on Friday.

The committee took the decision, taking into consideration the weakening of global economic activity due to conflict in Ukraine and aggressive monetary policy actions and stances across the world.

"As financial conditions tighten, global financial markets are experiencing surges of volatility, with sporadic sell-offs in equity and bond markets, and the US dollar strengthening to a 20-year high," the minutes said.

The panel further noted that emerging market economies (EMEs) are facing intensified pressures from retrenchment of portfolio flows, currency depreciations, reserve losses and financial stability risks, besides the global inflation shock.

"As external demand deteriorates, their macroeconomic outlook is becoming increasingly adverse," the panel noted.

Commenting on the domestic economy, the MPC said that while all constituents of domestic aggregate demand expanded year-on-year and exceeded their pre-pandemic levels, the drag from net exports provided an offset.

"On the supply side, gross value added (GVA) rose by 12.7 per cent in first quarter of current fiscal with all constituents recording year-on-year growth and most notably, services," it said.

On a positive note, the MPC said that aggregate supply conditions are improving.

"With the south-west monsoon rainfall 7 per cent above the long period average (LPA) as on September 29 and its spatial distribution spreading to some deficit areas, kharif sowing has been catching up. Acreage was 1.7 per cent above the normal sown area as on September 23 and only 1.2 per cent below last year's coverage," the MPC minutes said.

The production of kharif foodgrains as per first advance estimates (FAE) was 3.9 per cent below last year's fourth advance estimates (only 0.4 per cent below last year's FAE), the minutes added further.

Activity in industry and services sectors remains in expansion, especially the latter, as reflected in purchasing managers indices (PMIs) and other high frequency indicators. The index of industrial production growth, however, slowed to 2.4 per cent (y-o-y) in July, it was discussed during the meeting.

"On the demand side, urban consumption is being lifted by discretionary spending ahead of the festival season and rural demand is gradually improving," the minutes said.

Investment demand is also gaining traction, as reflected in rising imports and domestic production of capital goods, steel consumption and cement production, it concluded.

--IANS
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Chennai, Oct 14 (IANS) The issue of a worker's union getting affiliated to an outside organisation and the company management not recognising the same led to an agitation in India Yamaha Motor's plant near here on Thursday, a trade union official said.

Around 350 workers belonging to the India Yamaha Motor Thozhilalar Sangam (IYMTS), affiliated to the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), are on strike, demanding that the management hold wage talks with their union, Sudhanthiram (Independent) India Yamaha Motor Thozhilalar (workers) Sangam (SIYMS) President U. Velmurugan told IANS.

"We have negotiated the wage settlement and were on the verge of inking the deal when the strike cropped up," Velmurugan said.

He said as per the talks, the India Yamaha Motor has agreed to offer a wage hike of Rs 25,000/three years and several welfare measures.

"Our wages are getting at par with other two-wheeler makers," Velmurugan added.

According to him, in 2018, the IYMTS was formed and affiliated to the CITU. The management refused to recognise the union on the ground that it was affiliated to an outside organisation.

"Later at the talks with the state government officials, the CITU agreed to move out and the IYMTS became an independent union," Velmurugan said.

In 2019, the IYMTS under Velmurugan's leadership had inked a three year wage agreement.

"About 350 workers wanted the union to be affiliated to the CITU and demanded the management to hold talks with it. The management refused to hold talks with a CITU affiliated worker's union. We recently formed another union - SIYMS - having majority membership," Velmurugan said.

He said the India Yamaha Motor has 1,095 permanent workers. Including temporary and casual workers, the total number of workers on three shift basis will be about 4,500.

"About 350 workers are on a sit-in strike from Tuesday. Production at the plant is on with the help of other workers - permanent, temporary and casual," Velmurugan said.

He said the plant rolls out about 1,600 vehicles - majorly scooters - per day.

India Yamaha Motor management declined to comment while CITU officials were not reachable.

--IANS
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San Francisco, Oct 14 (IANS) Tech giant Google has announced to add new features to the Play Store for better listing of apps next year.

The company showcased the upcoming changes at its annual developer conference I/O earlier this year.

"Your Play Store listing is the best way to help prospective users understand the functionality and value of your app", the company said in a blog post.

There will be new changes on large screens like tablets, foldables, and Chromebooks. The improvements will help users to find the best apps for their devices.

The company is also redesigning the Play Store for large screens using the screenshots, videos and descriptions directly in Apps and Games Home.

The target of the content-forward approach is to better represent the apps in the store and help users to make install decisions, the company said.

On Chromebooks, users can browse the Play Store and examine screenshots of the app on a tablet or a phone. Now the company introduced the option to post Chromebook-specific screenshots in Play Console.

It allows up to 8 screenshots and will mostly be visible on the Play Store for Chromebooks. Both the listing page for the app and the Play homepages will display these screenshots.

The screenshots in 16:9 ratio for landscape with dimensions of 1080-7690px are recommended, the company said.

--IANS
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Bengaluru, Oct 14 (IANS) Infosys is the latest entry to list of IT firms clamping down on moonlighting employees. However the IT behemoth is mulling a system that will allow employees to work on external projects too.

Without elaborating on the numbers, Infosys CEO Salil Parikh said that over the last one year, the company has let go its employees found working with other companies.

"Where there are confidentiality issues, we have let them go," Parikh said on Thursday at the press conference announcing the Q2 results.

Parikh however said that Infosys is mulling a policy that allows employees to work on other projects within and outside of Infosys.

Earlier Wipro Chairman Rishad Premji had expressed concerns over the issue of moonlighting employees.

A few weeks ago, Premji had stated that Wipro had fired 300 employees on this count.

Amid reports of IT companies delaying or putting fresh recruitments on hold, Infosys CFO Nilanjan Roy said that there was no delay in onboarding freshers.

He said that Infosys hired 40,000 freshers in the first half of the financial year.

--IANS
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San Francisco, Oct 14 (IANS) As the content creators' economy grows, Microsoft has launched four new practical tools for content creators to unleash their creativity.

The new tools are called Microsoft Designer, Microsoft Clipchamp, Microsoft Create and Image Creator.

The 'Microsoft Designer' is a graphic design app in Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365) that allows creators to create social media posts, invitations, digital postcards, graphics, and more.

Microsoft Designer is powered by AI technology, so creators do not need to create cards or social media posts from scratch, according to the company.

Meanwhile, 'Microsoft Climpchap' is a free video editor by which content creators can create all types of videos (vlogs, reels, etc) in no time.

With Climpchap, creators can make professional-grade videos, without needing to be an editing expert, said the company.

Moreover, a new website called 'Microsoft Create' has been developed to help people create videos, graphic designs, documents, presentations and more.

The website brings together the content creation apps from Designer to Clipchamp to PowerPoint to Word and beyond.

"The 'Microsoft Create' website is live and available for anyone to use. We'll continue to build new functionality and content into the site over time," the company added.

With 'Image Creator', content creators will be able to create images that don't yet exist.

Image Creator will let creators bring their ideas to life. Simply type in a description of something, any additional context like location or activity, and an art style, and Image Creator will make it for you, the tech giant added.

--IANS
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San Francisco, Oct 14 (IANS) Tech giant Sony Electronics has announced the availability of its first over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids for the US market.

The company said it is re-imagining the hearing device space with a focus on innovation, accessibility and personalization.

"With the unique products, developed in partnership with WS Audiology (WSA), a leading innovator in hearing aid technology for more than 100 years, Sony will enhance the lives of consumers by combining its unique premium technology, ultimate ease of use, and uncompromised comfort and wearability," it said in a statement.

The first two products to debut from the partnership are the CRE-C10 and the CRE-E10 self-fitting OTC hearing aids, designed to understand that one size does not fit all and that people deserve options that best fit their unique needs, situations, and lives.

Utilizing the app, the CRE-C10 and CRE-E10 intuitively adapt to each user's speech and surroundings, blending the latest technology with comfort to meet each individual's hearing goals.

Created for daily use, Sony's goal with these new devices is to break down the current barriers faced by those with signs of mild to moderate hearing loss and provide a simple, app-enabled, do-it-yourself solution that can allow for a better hearing experience.

While each device features an easy-to-navigate app interface with customizable options for the wearer's specific hearing needs and preferences, the two models coming to market will provide more choices regarding the look and capabilities of high-end hearing devices.

Each device can be used soon after purchase by following an easy set-up with the Sony | Hearing Control App. Users are guided through a step-by-step process, answering a few brief questions to quickly set up and start using either device in a matter of minutes.

The user-friendly app allows each device to communicate with the user's smartphone, letting them quickly personalise settings, including volume control and more to ensure the wearer hears exactly what they intend, in multiple environments.

The app also allows the wearer to "self-fit" each device. During the in-app self-fitting process, each Sony device self-adjusts to the most appropriate of pre-defined hearing profiles, which are based on thousands of actual, real-life audiogram results.

--IANS
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Singapore, Oct 14 (IANS) The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) on Friday tightened its policy stand by re-centering the mid-point of the Singapore Dollar Nominal Effective Exchange Rate (S$NEER) policy band up to its prevailing level, leaving the slope and width of the policy band unchanged.

This was the fourth time for the MAS to consecutively tighten the monetary policy this year, but the move was not as aggressive as widely expected, reports Xinhua news agency.

The Global Economics and Markets Research team of UOB (United Overseas Bank) said in a report that the majority of market consensus had expected a further rise in the slope of the policy band beforehand.

The MAS said in its newly-published Monetary Policy Statement that the policy shift, building on past tightening moves, will further reduce imported inflation and help curb domestic cost pressures.

The policy stance will help dampen inflation in the near term and ensure medium-term price stability, providing the basis for sustainable economic growth.

The MAS said that the global economy faces high inflation and lower growth next year.

Singapore's GDP growth is projected to come in at 3 to 4 per cent in 2022. In 2023, the economy is forecast to grow at a pace that is below the trend, which could cause the current mildly positive output gap to reverse.

At the same time, MAS core inflation, which excludes the costs of accommodation and private transport, is expected to remain elevated over the next few quarters, with risks still tilted to the upside.

For 2022 as a whole, MAS core inflation is estimated to average around 4 per cent and CPI-All Items inflation around 6 per cent.

In 2023, taking into account all factors including the Goods and Services Tax increase, MAS core inflation is estimated to come in at 3.5-4.5 per cent on average over the year, and CPI-All Items inflation at 5.5-6.5 per cent.

The authority added that it will continue to closely monitor global and domestic economic developments amid heightened uncertainty on both the inflation and growth fronts.

--IANS
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New Delhi, Oct 14 (IANS) Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday underlined the significance of technology transformation, which she said, was the main reason behind ensuring good governance in India.

Speaking on the topic "Technology, Finance and Governance: The Multiplier Effect" at the John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, the Finance Minister said, "Good governance in India is being achieved through technology transformation, especially in the last two years."

It has also helped in scaling and integration of micro, small and medium enterprises in India, the Finance Minister said.

She told the gathering that after overcoming initial hesitation, people in India and especially in rural areas, adopted technology.

In India, Sitharaman said, electricity supply is erratic, however, between 2014 and 2019, the (NDA) Government worked on providing electricity in villages and also to each rural household.

Once this was achieved, Sitharaman said that the next step was providing optic fibre to all panchayats across the country.

Today, she informed 80 per cent of panchayats have optic fibre connectivity.

The open source network created by the Government had helped small businesses, Sitharaman informed the select gathering of students and faculty members.

She also explained how the open network for digital commerce (ONDC), had helped in transforming trade and commerce and bank account aggregators have changed the dynamics of digital banking and commerce.

Digital payment interfaces like UPI are now being accepted in several countries, the Finance Minister said and even tax assessment as well as tax collection is being done online.

"These (UPI interfaces) are public goods and are affordable," Sitharaman said, while highlighting the technological transformation in India.

--IANS
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San Francisco, Oct 14 (IANS) Tech giant Apple's recently launched iPhone 14 Plus is garnering low traction as a new report said it has "unexpectedly low sales," media reports say.

The report from DigiTimes claims that sales of the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus are considerably overshadowed by an "enthusiastic" response to the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max, reports MacRumors.

Sources speaking to DigiTimes said that despite differences in sales performance between the Pro and non-Pro iPhone models this year, total Phone 14 model shipments will likely be around the same as those for the iPhone 13 lineup in the second half of 2021.

If sales of the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus "remain flat" soon, Apple purportedly may cut parts orders to make the devices in the second half of October, the report said.

If Apple cuts orders more aggressively than expected, then the total iPhone 14 lineup shipments by the end of the year may even fall compared to the iPhone 13 series in the same time frame last year, it added.

Meanwhile, Apple recently announced the availability of the iPhone 14 Plus, featuring a 6.7-inch display, an upgraded dual-camera system, Crash Detection, Emergency SOS via satellite, A15 Bionic, and improved battery life, in India.

The customers in India can purchase iPhone 14 in colours like midnight, blue, starlight, purple, and (PRODUCT) RED in 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB storage starting from Rs 89,900.

--IANS
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